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3/4

My usual "go to" recipe for Mexican meatball soup is the Mexican Meatball Soup (Bon Appetit, 12/2000) also on Epicurious. This Poblano Albondigas, which I've made once, is more labor intensive, but has a richer flavor. If I make it again, I would definitely double the rice, and I would reduce the amount of Ancho chile powder to 2 TBS, and then add to taste. (I used McCormick's ancho chile poweder.) The soup was a little too spicy for my husband's tastes. Also, the meatballs in this recipe tended to fall apart; using the other recipe they do not.

katemossnj
from South Jersey
/ 02.28.2012

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I added 2 cans of fire roasted
tomatoes to the base and upped the
rice to about 1/2 cup. Made the
meatballs pretty much according to
the recipe except I only used 1 tsp.
of cumin. Thought 1 tbls. might be
overpowering. Topped each bowl with
lime juice, chopped cilantro and
diced avocado. Fantastic!

ljf0625
from Nebury Park, CA
/ 09.21.2011

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This is a flavorful recipe but I agree with others that the cumin overwhelms the rest of the flavors. I made this a second time, adjusting the cumin to 1 teaspoon in both the meatballs and soup. I also added slices of avocado to the soup just before serving. It was a much better dish to serve the second time around.

MissWest
from Dayton, Ohio
/ 05.18.2011

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After searching all over San Diego for the best bowl of Albondigas, we gave up and decided to try it ourselves...I followed this recipe pretty much as it was written. The amount of cumin was just right,as well as the ancho powder. The Poblano chiles are well worth the time to roast and peel etc, don't take the easy way out and use canned green chiles, it is a whole different flavor! I added carrots and half cobs of corn, as this is the way it's done in S. Calif! It was delicious, the cilantro and lime on top are just another layer of goodness! Will definitely keep this recipe in my book!

bullysma
from San Diego
/ 02.14.2011

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This was a mix of
hits and misses. We
used canned mild
green chiles in the
meatballs; they have
always proved much
easier to use than
roasting and peeling
peppers. I doubt
that sub caused it,
but our meatballs
totally fell apart
while simmering. And
like some other
reviewers, we had a
"fat slick" floating
on top of the
finished product. (I
never got that from
Italian Wedding or
similar meatball
soups) There was
too much ancho chili
powder, but that
allowed me to
discover its flavor.
I think ancho will
make a much better
chili con carne than
normal chili powder.
And for some strange
reason, the amount
of chili powder
seemed to talk all
the flavor of salt
away. Despite
everything, I will
say this: the soup
WAS tasty. I doubt
I'll ever make this
particular recipe
again, but I did
learn a lot from it.

vodkandtonic
from Stroudsburg, PA
/ 01.23.2011

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Loved this recipe.
But I tweaked
everything. haha.
For the meatballs I
used ground turkey,
I omitted the
poblano chiles,
zucchini, and cumin.
I substituted the
chiles with a bit of
serrano chiles,
zucchini with
carrots, and cumin
with paprika and
black pepper. For
the soup I omitted
the cumin and
substituted with
more powder chile. I
added potatoes,
carrots and corn to
the soup. And also
substituted the beef
broth with chicken.
And I didnt bother
with the tortilla
chips. I used
avocado for
toppings.
Best albondigas I've
made so far. I'm
sure following the
recipe would be
delicious too, I
just didnt have the
ingredients.

dayvidr
from Los Angeles, Ca
/ 01.05.2011

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Using what I already
had: lean ground
turkey instead of
beef, red pepper
instead of poblano
chiles, finely
chopped celery and
grated potatoes
instead of zucchini,
and sprouted wheat
breadcrumbs instead
of panko. For a
rainy Sunday
afternoon, and not
wanting to leave the
house, I think it
turned out very
well. I think the
measurements for the
cumin were just
fine, unlike some of
the other reviewers.
I did skimp on the
salt and I used
low-salt vegetable
broth instead of
beef broth. I also
didn't have any
cilantro in the
house and traded
lemon for the lime.
Great to freeze and
eat left-over as
well!!

A Cook
from San Francisco, CA
/ 11.16.2010

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We will make this again. I used 22% fat ground beef and it was too fatty. Leftovers were great with fat skimmed off. My husband was melting from the spice, but I didnt detect any so added lots of Cholula! I used about 1.5 lbs meat so we'd have more meatballs. Loved avocado on top!

A Cook
from Ellensburg, Wa
/ 10.21.2010

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Loved this recipe. My family requests it regularly.

loribacca
from Huntington Beach, CA
/ 09.11.2010

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I really liked the soup base, but I wasn't too impressed with the meatballs. I would suggest cutting back on the cumin in the meatballs and I would prefer pork over beef in the future. I agree with others that there needs to be more rice.